ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The estate office has reclaimed 184 government houses/flats from illegal occupants during the last six months, it has been learnt.

Sources said that these people had been illegally occupying government accommodation for the last so many years. They had been using different pressure tactics to avoid being dislodged from the residences.

The estate office got vacated some of the houses, quarters and flats from some of highly influential people from the police, National Accountability Bureau, Anti-Narcotics Force.

About 106 houses/flats have been reclaimed from police personnel alone-- from constables to DSP level officers. None in the past could dare touch them.

One of the houses had been in the occupation of an additional inspector general of police and two category -1 houses in illegal possession of NAB and ANF officials. Category-1 house is the biggest accommodation allowed to the highest-ranking officials like secretaries or officials equal to their grades.

But instead of getting a pat on the back, the estate officer was subjected to trials for his bold step of laying hands on these `sacred cows’. He was summoned to the senate standing committees to clarify his position before those people who had been illegally occupying government accommodation after their retirement.

“It was the worst example of supporting illegalities,” an official of the housing ministry said.

The estate office is in great dilemma because it can neither freely go ahead with its operation against illegal occupants nor sit as a silent spectator while its houses, flats and quarters are grabbed unlawfully, the official further said. There is someone behind every illegal occupant. They are backed mostly by parliamentarians, political figures and high officials, it has been learnt.

Apart from this, the estate office, once believed to be a den of corrupt elements, has been has been fully streamlined and the allotment process made transparent, the official said. It is, perhaps, for the first time that the estate office has been turned into an institution, another employee said. Power has been decentralized and different sections assigned their specific jobs.

However, hundreds of houses/quarters are still in possession of people who have either retired or are ineligible for government accommodation or part of qabza mafia.

On the other hand, accommodation problem for government employees is worsening day by day. About 30,000 employees are on the general waiting list of the housing ministry waiting for official residences but there is no house/flat available to be allotted to them.

The problem is going to aggravate with the passage of time if urgent steps are not taken to dislodge the illegal occupants.

Another area where the performance of estate office is below the mark is its litigation section. Hundreds of cases are lying pending in courts but no serious efforts are being made to dispose of these cases.

The lawyers fighting court cases of the estate office and the staff of the section don’t take the required interest to expedite the disposal of unnecessary litigation. There have been complaints that these legal advisors either don’t appear before the courts or they are unprepared and so have to take long dates. As a result, litigations drag on and pending cases get piled up.